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WORKING GROUP II SUBGROUP B

IV. GLOBAL PLAN OF ACTION: STRATEGIES FOR IMPLEMENTATION: Chair Hermosilla (Chile) opened the Subgroup's consideration of Section A (Introduction). In paragraph 36 (changes since Habitat I), delegates agreed to the Holy See amendment to add "families" to the list of actors working to improve settlements conditions. An EU-proposed reference to the fact that "one billion human beings still lack adequate shelter..." was amended to note that they "are living under unacceptable conditions of poverty, mostly in developing countries." The G-77/China stated that the sentence noting "many societies have changed their views on the appropriate role of government" was controversial and it was deleted. A Holy See-proposed additional paragraph regarding the number of people without safe and healthy shelter was bracketed.

In paragraph 37 (growth of world population), the EU deleted "mega-cities" because it did not want to create a series of identifications. The G-77 /China, supported by the US, proposed "towns, cities and megacities." Delegates accepted the US proposal that of the 5.7 billion people nearly one-third would be under 15 years of age. The US supported the Holy See's proposed ICPD language for the beginning of the paragraph. Egypt supported the reference to megacities. Local Authorities, the Marshall Islands and Egypt supported a Holy See amendment noting the need to address the root causes of rural to urban migration. The US said there are many factors. An informal group met during lunch and agreed to note the rapid urbanization of towns, cities and megacities, as well as to note the "need to address the root causes of these phenomena, including rural to urban migration".

In 38 (globalization of the economy), the US proposed including "rapid population growth" and "violations of human rights" as additional critical factors, and suggested working from the informal drafting group's text. The G-77/China stated that its redraft reflected the situation as seen from developing countries. An evening informal group was to continue discussion on this paragraph.

In 39 (local communities at the front line to achieve Habitat goals), delegates agreed to the Canadian and EU proposal to remove the reference to "recent global conferences" and to add a revised EU reference to "non-governmental and community-based organizations" as groups on which progress depends.

In 40 (UN series of world conferences), delegates noted that UN conferences over the last five years addressed important issues of "people-centred sustainable development, including sustained economic growth and equity..." They also added a US-proposed reference to "disability issues" to the list of strategies that will have to be implemented, and agreed that they should be implemented in "rural as well as" urban areas, "particularly" where problems are acute and generate tension. The US noted that its acceptance of the word "equity" in this paragraph does not mean it will accept the word in other contexts.

In 41 (implementation of Habitat II), several delegates, including the EU, suggested that the Malaysian proposal to note the role of "international bodies, especially UNCHS (Habitat)" would be better placed in other parts of the text. The G-77/China objected to EU-proposed text noting that "capacities and commitment of individuals and communities can be enhanced..." An evening informal group was to continue discussion on this paragraph.

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